 ICF insignia, 1980s | |
| Founding location | East London |
|---|---|
| Years active | 1977/8–Present |
| Territory | East London |
| Ethnicity | PredominantlyWhiteEnglish |
| Criminal activities | Football hooliganism,riots,fighting,organised crime,drug trafficking, extorting |
TheInter City Firm (ICF) is anEnglish footballhooligan firm associated withWest Ham United, which was mainly active in the 1970s, 1980s and early 1990s. The name came from the use ofInterCity trains to travel to away games.[1] They were the subject of a 1985Thames Television documentary,Hooligan.[2][3]
The firm formed out of a number of other West Ham groups, including theMile End Boys andEssex East London Firm. ICF formed in the 1977/78 season.[4]
The most notable figure associated with the ICF isCass Pennant, who wrote on football hooliganism in the 1990s and 2000s. In his book,Congratulations You Have Just Met the ICF, as a black Londoner, Pennant maintains that the ICF was notracist orright-wing.[4]Bill Gardner, a member of the Mile End Boys, appears on the front-cover of the original print of the book.
Carlton Leach, the main character in the filmRise of the Footsoldier, is also associated with the firm. He, along with Pat Tate, Tony Tucker and Craig Rolfe, later started to get involved in thecriminal underworld inLondon andEssex. They strayed away from the dangers of football fights, to focus onselling drugs and extorting drug dealers. Tate, Tucker and Rolfe met a brutal end in theRettendon murders inEssex.
The ICF pioneeredcalling cards that were left on victims.[5] They read "Congratulations, you have just met the ICF".[6] Calling cards would also become popular at other football clubs.
In the very late 1980s, the ICF was regularly linked to theUK pirate radio stationCentreforce through its founder Andy Swallow. Swallow was a one-time member of the Essex East London Firm also.
The ICF again came to prominence in 2018 when former members re-grouped as theReal West Ham Fans Action Group, organising protests against the club board.[7][8]
The ICF were the basis ofAlan Clarke's 1988 film,The Firm.Gary Oldman plays Bex Bissell, the leader of the ICC - Inter City Crew. Members of the ICF were used as consultants on the film.[1] The 2005 filmGreen Street (and its sequels) are also based on the ICF, but instead the initials GSE ('Green Street Elite') were used. The ICF make an appearance inIrvine Welsh's novellasEcstasy: Three Tales of Chemical Romance.
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